95 Theses Nut Bars

For Reformation Day today, my kids and I baked this nutty bars recipe into the shape of 95s in honor of Martin Luther's 95 Theses that he nailed on the door on October 31st, 1517. These are not only VERY healthy but yummy too! My kiddos opted to leave the nuts off.

2 sticks of softened butter (1 cup)
1 c honey
2 c whole wheat flour
2 c wheat germ
chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together till it forms a sticky dough. Turn out onto a well floured counter. Using extra flour and a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1 inch thick. Use floured cookie cutters to cut shapes. Or you can let the kids shape it with their hands into their own shapes. You can also just bake it as one flat rectangle and then cut it in bars after it cools. Sprinkle with chopped nuts before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 min.

Happy Reformation Day!

Saving at the Grocery Store Beyond Coupons and Ads

We all know about couponing and watching the weekly ads...but how about some other tips? Keep in mind that couponing is only good so far as it doesn't tempt you to buy things you wouldn't normally buy. It's also true that going to several stores to get all the deals takes extra time and extra gas. Be frugal in your couponing and deal shopping!

With that in mind, here are some other tips.....

Buy milk on sale and freeze it. (yes you can freeze it)

Buy bananas on sale and freeze your over-ripe bananas for adding to baking later.

Only shop twice a month. The less you go to the store the less likely you are to be tempted to buy other things. Less trips also cuts down on gas for your car. This doesn't mean you can't run down to the local store once a week to replenish your fresh produce supply if needed...but do your major grocery shopping only twice a month. This will save you a lot of time and money. You'll be surprised.

Shop at Costco first and then get the rest of what you need at the grocery store.

Split bulk Costco items with a friend or relative and share the price in half if it's more than you need.

Buy bulk when your budget allows.

Don't take kids with you! This naturally cuts down on the ocery bill for two reasons...they don't ask you to buy extra things and they don't distract you from figuring out the best prices.

Don't buy ready made meals/food. Prepackaged and ready made meals cost more and aren't as healthy. Make your own homemade snacks. Make your own freezer meals for nights you don't feel like cooking. OR buy just a few of Costco's ready made meals from their deli, they are healthier, lower in sodium, and much more cost effective.

Watch for in-isle coupons...they are often incredible discounts!

Pay with cash. (if you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey or haven't tried his methods, you may want to consider how it would change your grocery shopping-paying with cash keeps you from buying un-needed items. Paying with cash keeps us in a budget...which leads me to the next tip...)

Take a calculator! Figure out how much you have to spend in cash and then subtract your state's tax percentage and that's how much you have left to spend on items in your cart without going over in tax. Add up your groceries as you go. Paying with cash ties you to what you are buying emotionally and gives you the peace about spending what you have with confidence.

Shop during the week during work hours. The store is less crowded and therefor a more relaxing atmosphere. Shopping while you are stressed by all the people you are fighting to get your cart past down an isle will only cause you to rush and grab. Try to hit the stores when it's the least crowded.

If you must take small children with you, swing by the children's books first (or bring your own) to keep them occupied in the cart. Don't take babies during nap time! Mornings are usually kid's happiest times...go when they are happy! I don't understand these people who shop during the dinner hour when their kids are hungry or at bed time (OR LATER) when their kids are tired and cranky. Again, keep the stress level down so you can take your time to get good prices.

Crock-pot Cream of Wheat

My kids actually don't like this one but my husband and I do. It's cream of wheat in the crock-pot. Cream of Wheat is very high in iron. =0)

This makes a great first cereal for babies....I made it all the time for mine and it was much cheaper than buying Gerber's brand baby cereal.

7 1/4 c water
1 1/3 c cream of wheat (preferably the 10 min. cook time but the shorter cook time ones will work fine too)

Put water and cream of wheat in the crock. Cook on low all night (6-8 hrs). In the morning it may have a skin on the top which you can throw away or if it's not too thick just stir it. You can kind of see one starting in the picture but underneath that is creamy cereal. Serve with butter, brown sugar, raisins, honey, maple syrup, etc. like you would oatmeal. You can also mix in the honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup the night before.

This serves 6-8. It doesn't work well for leftovers so it's important to make the right amount. You can half this recipe to serve 3-4 by using these measurements:

3 3/4 c water
2/3 c cream of wheat

Featured Product- Bar Keepers Friend

I love this stuff. It works so good on glass top stoves! Unlike other abrasive cleaners like Comet, this is safe for glass top stoves and gets EVERYTHING off.

Some of you might have black marks that have been there forever from water that's boiled over and I'm here to tell you that this stuff takes it right off with a wet sponge.

I like to use a kitchen sponge that has the one side that is scratchy and it works great. Doesn't scratch the glass top though, just leaves it shiny.

Most grocery stores and Wa-lmart carry it (or at least Super Wal-marts do).

I like it so much that I now use it for my toilets, showers, tubs, and sinks. It's good stuff!

Meal Planning / Menu Planning

I've been wanting to do a post on here for quite some time about menu planning. I've been asked through the years how to do menu planning and tips for menu planning. I'll try to give you a simple list of options (and there are more I know so feel free to comment and share your ideas as well). This post is going to cover "types of menu planning", "tips for menu planning", and "why menu planning works."

TYPES OF MENU PLANNING:

I've done menu planning by the week, by the 2 weeks, and by the month. All of which served me well at certain times. It just depends on what fits for you. Currently, I'm planning by the week to two weeks. There isn't a right or wrong way to do menu planning as long as it's working well for you. Some people like to do two weeks at a time because it fits with their pay days and hence their grocery shopping. I used to plan by the month just because I hated planning and so that way the whole month was done and I didn't have to think about it for another month! Other times I can't seem to think past one week at a time.

I've done menu planning that consisted of breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I've also done just breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and my current favorite-planning just the dinners. I seem to have breakfast and lunch down to a routine without really needing to plan them out. I know several women (and other bloggers) that do breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu planning for their families and it works really well for them. Heavenly Homemaker and Life as Mom post their weekly menus for your viewing convenience if you'd like to see some in action.

TIPS FOR MENU PLANNING:

~probably the best tip of all is to make a list of the things you like to cook...or that your family likes to eat. I keep this typed list of meal ideas printed and taped to the inside of my pantry door. When I'm making my menu, I can quickly reference this list of ideas for dinner. And it even comes in handy when I get behind on menu planning and need a quick idea for dinner. I categorize this list by Poultry, Meat, and Vegetarian dishes. You can categorize your list any way you want to though...another great way would be Soups, Casseroles, Meat and Potatoes, Mexican, Italian, etc.....do what works for you. You can see my list to the right. You are welcome to print it and use it as a rough draft for your own meal ideas.

~if you tend to cook enough for leftovers, work a "leftovers" night into your menu. This is a night (towards the end of your cooking week) where you pull out all your leftovers from the week and have a buffet. This saves money and assures that leftovers get eaten.

~make double when you cook and freeze one. Making freezer meals gives you a night off of cooking from time to time. Be sure to put these freezer meals into your menu planning calendar. Remember that potatoes and carrots do not freeze well and be sure to pull that freezer meal out in the morning so it's defrosted in time to cook it according to the recipe instructions. Another tip is to write the recipe cooking instructions on the foil you cover it with making it easy to remember what temp to set the oven and for how long.

~include one breakfast dinner a week to save money on the food budget. What's breakfast dinner? It's having pancakes or the like for dinner. It's cheaper and saves money.

~when making your menu for the week start with looking through your pantry and freezer. Try to use items you've already got on hand and incorporate ingredients you need to use up.

~consult your home calendar/schedule to account for other dinners out of the house whether that's family get-togethers, church potlucks, or going out with friends. Another reason to consult your schedule is to account for busy days where the crock-pot meal may be the best option and schedule accordingly. For example...Friday is crock-pot day for us because it's always a long busy day.

~once you've planned your meals, make your grocery list off of your menu plan. This helps save time and money in the grocery store because you are shopping for what you actually need that week.

~if only planning dinners, then add some basic breakfast, lunch, and snack items to your grocery list.


~make your own menu calendar and stick it to your fridge for daily reference. This way you know where it is all the time. I've made them in excel before but now I use a magnetic paper calendar like this one pictured.


WHY MENU PLANNING WORKS:

First of all, you don't have to stick to the menu plan as law. I do plenty of scribbling out, switching, rearranging, and abandoning as needed for unexpected circumstances in my day. The menu plan is only a guide and a plan. Sticking to it is of course to your benefit and should actually help alleviate stress and busy schedules but there are times when you need to make changes.

Menu planning works because:
*it takes the stress out of figuring out dinner at the last minute.
*it allows you more time (because you planned) to make healthier, more balanced, and all around better meals rather than last minute ones. You can plan a more well rounded and balanced diet throughout the week/month.
*it saves money at the grocery store because you are buying what you need. Instead of buying a bunch of food and actually only using a percentage of it that week and throwing out what goes bad, you are going to use just about all of it because you plan to.
*it frees you up in the mornings and afternoons from figuring out what to make for dinner and from having to run to the store for that one ingredient you thought you had on hand and don't.
*menu planning may seem like it takes a lot of time if you haven't done it before but in reality it saves time. Just taking those 15-20 min (you get better and faster at it the more you do it) at the beginning of the month or week will save you tons of time in the grocery store and in the afternoons trying to figure out what to make.

Crock-pot Sausage

I keep trying to find new ways to use my crock-pot in order to simplify my life and I'm happy to say that I'm using it almost every day!

The other day I browned these sausages in a skillet in the morning just for a minute on each side and then cooked them on low in the crock for about another 4 hours. Then they are ready to go for pasta or in a hoagie bun with pasta sauce and cheese on top for a sausage sandwich.

Yes, I know they aren't healthy for you, but every once in a great while I do cook them up for my family who loves them.


Check back here next week for some non-recipe posts. I'll be talking next week about meal/menu planning, my favorite product to clean my glass top stove, some ways to save on grocery shopping, and some basic kitchen tips. Who knows, I might even throw in some recipes.

Oatmeal Pears in the Crock-pot

I made this oatmeal pear crisp in the crock-pot the other night so that it was ready for us in the morning for breakfast. We served it over yogurt. I didn't add the brown sugar to this one trying to have a healthier version and it was still mighty good. I did add a bit of water...I think about 1 cup just to help the oatmeal cook a little. It was yummy and my kids liked it! =0)

Free Drawing

psst.....I'm doing a free giveaway over on my family blog for a free Legacy Prayer Journal in honor of Nesting Places' post about moms who sell their own products.....

Don't miss out on it!

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz of cream cheese
1 c softened butter
4 tsp vanilla
4 c sifted powdered sugar (or more if needed)

Beat cream cheese and butter till smooth. Add vanilla and gradually add sugar while beating well. Add as much sugar as needed to make frosting smooth for spreading. This will be a thick frosting in the end.

This frosting goes well with any type of pumpkin cake or muffins as well.

Carrot Cake

I guess this is about as healthy as cake gets right? It also happens to be one of my husband's favorite cakes (the other one is Fillmore Orange Cake) and I make it for him almost every year. I made it recently for my brother's birthday too.





1 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 c finely shredded carrots (I run mine through the food processor)
1 c vegetable oil
4 eggs

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add carrot, oil, and eggs. Beat well. Pour into two greased and floured cake pans (9 in.). Bake @ 350 degrees for 30-35 min. or until center bakes up and center comes out clean (use a toothpick or cake tester). Cool for 15 min. and then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.

I make mine ahead of time and then wrap them with cling wrap and foil and freeze till ready to frost.

Variation~ this recipe comes out great using 2 cups white flour instead of 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.

Cream cheese frosting...coming tomorrow.

Corn Cake

This is a recipe that my kids and I made from a book as we were studying the foods of Brazil. They celebrate corn on St. John's day so we made this recipe for our homeschool co-op. It actually didn't turn out from the book recipe so I re-made it my way and fixed it. It turned out so well, we were asked if we would post it on here and I think we will be making this every fall now as a tradition. It's really good.

1 can of canned corn, drained
7 tbsp butter, softened
1 2/3 c whole wheat flour
3 eggs
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp baking powder
1 c granulated sugar
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Grind corn coarsely in food processor leaving it still chunky. Mix all of the ingredients together including the corn. Beat till it is well mixed. Pour into two greased and floured bread loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 50 min. or until center comes out clean with cake tester. Let cool out of oven for about 10 min. and then remove to a cooling rack. Serve plain or with butter/honey.

Egg Sandwich

I love an egg sandwich. My mom and dad used to make these for breakfast a lot when we were growing up. It reminds me of garage sale days. Dad was the garage sale king...and I always loved putting on a garage sale with him. Mom would usually come out with these for us while we were negotiating deals on our junk. =0) Good memories. And THAT is why I always think of garage sales when I have one of these. Life is funny!

While bread is toasting, fry an egg and break the yoke. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put between toast and layer with a slice of cheese.

Favorite Gadget - BBQ Basket

You've seen this one on here already..it's my grill basket for the BBQ. I think the official name is "wok topper". I've tried a few and this one is our favorite. It's great for grilling veggies but also anything that you would normally put on a skewer. It saves you time rather than threading everything on to each stick.

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It has a non-stick surface but you can still spray it with non-stick spray or olive oil just to be sure stuff doesn't stick. It's a great way to toss your veggies or other ingredients while seasoning them. And, right now, they are on clearance at Wal-mart and I'm sure other stores as well in the BBQ section.

Be sure to check out my free giveaway over on our family blog in honor of the Nesting Places' post.... click here for my free giveaway

Frozen Yogurt

I've made home made ice cream many times through the years in our ice cream maker but we gave yogurt a try this time. We used fresh blackberries we had picked and organic yogurt. We added organic granulated sugar to sweeten it a bit. It was really good. You could use more sugar to sweeten it more and I would recommend straining the berries first to rid them of their seeds.

My kids loved making this and have enjoyed eating it! I think we'll be making more frozen yogurts in the future! I want to try peach next!

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1 carton organic vanilla yogurt

1/2-1 cup berries or other fruit mashed

1/2 cup organic granulated sugar

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(you can add more sugar is desired to make it less tart or try using other sweeteners such as pure maple syrup, apple sauce, honey, or other sweeteners. Feel free to try the mixture before freezing it to taste test it for sweetness)

Egg Pita

This is my new breakfast on the go and no mess eggs for kids. It's a great on the go breakfast for adults running out the door in the morning but it's a less mess meal for toddlers too...or in our case, a messy 7 year old eater.

Put scrambled eggs mixed with grated cheese into a warmed pita pocket. My kids aren't thrilled with pita pockets but they love these pita pocket egg breakfast sandwiches. I use whole wheat pitas. The one in the picture is actually a package that came already sliced and propped open, ready to be filled and not only was it whole wheat but it had flax seed and a bunch of other good stuff in it. You never know what you'll find. =0)

Chile Relleno - Guest Chef

Here's another recipe from my sister in Mexico! Yummy.

6 fresh poblano or Anaheim chiles

2 potatoes (total of 14 oz.)

Scant 1 cup cream cheese

1 ¾ cup grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese (I used a white cheese since we don’t have cheddar and it was yummy so you might want to go with a white-jack would work…the cheddar seems like it might be pretty strong.)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp pepper

2 eggs separated

1 cup flour

Oil for frying

1. Roast chiles in frying pan until totally black all over. Try to pick flat chiles at the store as they are easier to roast evenly.
2. Put chiles in a plastic bag for about 20 minutes or until skin peels off easily. If they are not thoroughly roasted they will be really hard to peel.
3. Peel chiles, cut one opening down the side and carefully remove seeds. Try to keep them as intact as possible.
4. Dice small and cook potatoes until tender.
5. Mix potatoes, cream cheese, grated cheese, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.
6. Fill each chile with filling and cool in fridge until filling becomes firm. They don’t have to be COLD COLD just firm. (This will help keep them from falling apart or opening during frying too.)
7. Whisk egg white to firm peaks. Beat yolks separately then fold in with whites.
8. Put flour in shallow dish and mix in the other ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.
9. Heat oil for frying (375 degrees).
10. Coat chiles in flour then egg and place in hot oil. CAREFUL!
11. Fry all chiles in batches and enjoy!

Ways I'm Saving Money in the Kitchen

Here are some ways I'm trying to save money in the kitchen:

no more paper plates
no more paper napkins - we are using our cloth ones. We use the same one till it's totally dirty. That might sound gross but since we homeschool and eat all our meals at home I'd be going through a ton of napkins every week. So, after breakfast everyone refolds their napkin and leaves it at their place and same at lunch. Usually by the end of the day it's ready to be washed so we are using about 1 napkin a day per person. A very simple way to make your own cloth napkins is to cut tea towels (older used ones is fine) in half and sew the raw seem closed on the edge.
using cling wrap more instead of ziplock baggies
making ranch dressing from packets and/or scratch - instead of buying the already made and bottled kind. You can make all of your dressings homemade.
serve breakfast for dinner one night a week - such as pancakes. Cuts down on the grocery bill.
have "leftover night" when the leftovers start piling up - we take them all out of the fridge and have a buffet. Everyone can pick what they want to eat...any combination goes! This way we save on groceries for another night of dinner and we don't waste food.
make things from scratch - make biscuits, pizza dough, mac and cheese, soups, cakes, etc. from scratch and you'll save lots of money.
bake my own bread - it takes time but it's worth it. gotta love the bread machine.
make homemade snacks - not only are they usually healthier but you save a ton on prepackaged snacks like trail mix, granola, cookies, crackers, chips, granola bars, muffins, and even graham crackers. Include your kids in these fun cooking times.

Share the ways you are being frugal in your kitchen by commenting on this post! =0)

BBQ Shrimp

These de-veined and shelled frozen shrimp are great on the BBQ. I seasoned them with lemon pepper and garlic. We dipped them in melted butter. Oh ya! What a special treat this was.

Cook till pink and solid white through and through.

Lentil Split Pea Stew

I love this kind of soup. My mom makes soups like this all the time and I grew up eating this kind of soup. I created this out of items I needed to use in my fridge but you could substitute several of the items if you'd like to. It was so filling and thick.

1 c lentils
1 c split peas
4 c water
1 box chicken broth
1 chopped leak (or 1 tbsp minced dry onion or 1/4 chopped fresh onion)
2 c chopped kale (stem cut out)
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/2 c pasta
dash of garlic powder

Mix together everything except the pasta in a large pot. Bring to a bowl and simmer for about 45 min. Add pasta for the last 10 min. OR combine everything except the pasta in crock pot and cook on low from 9am till dinner or on high from noon till dinner. Add pasta for the last hour of cooking.

Serve with bread and butter.

Starting a soup 101:
If you are wanting to make soups and need a basic way to start, you can make most veggie soups or Italian based soups by starting with 1 box of chicken broth/stock, 4 cups water, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt (and more to taste), and 1/4 chopped onion. From there you can get creative. You can always add a 1/2-1 cup of pasta or rice to give your soup some stability....I always add something like pasta because I know it's something my kids will like in it. =0)

Crock-pot Mashed Potatoes

I've decided to do my mashed potatoes in the crock pot too now. I put a roast in one crock-pot and then the potatoes in my other crock-pot. Yes, I have two...actually I have 3. A large one, a small one, and one for dips. I'm trying to do as much as possible in these little counter top ovens to simplify my busy life.

I have found recently that NOT everything was meant to go in the crock-pot. =0)

Put your washed (and peeled if desired) potatoes in the crock-pot in the morning and cook on low all day till dinner. Then mash and add ingredients for mashed potatoes. My family LOVES mashed potatoes so this makes it super easy because I used to dread the time it took to make them the old way. Now we can enjoy them much more often.

-the picture is of the potatoes done. Notice they didn't turn brown on the exposed part.
-no, I do not put any water in there...just the potatoes.

NOTE: I just had someone try this and the potatoes were not done by dinner....we figured out that red potatoes take longer to cook...as do yukons. So, if you are doing a lot of potatoes and you are using red or gold potatoes, you may want to try cooking them on high the whole day. Sorry for any mishaps this may have caused. Mine turned out well so I dind't realize that some potatoes take longer to cook.
Hope that helps.

Only the best

I've tried and photographed about 5 new recipes recently that I wasn't thrilled about. I won't put them on here because I'm committed to bring you only the best. I'd have a lot more to post if I compromised and put stuff on here that was just so-so or the family begged me not to make again. So with that I will be bringing you a few non-recipe items this week along side a few good recipes to fill up the week. I'll keep trying new ones and throwing out the bad ones. =0)

Answering Questions

I've been asked about how to reheat frozen meals. Some people avoid making freezer meals because then they wouldn't know at what temperature and for how long to reheat their meals. There are a few tips I'll share to reheating frozen meals.

1. you can pull the frozen meal out of the freezer in the morning and leave it on your counter so that it defrost all the way before cooking it for dinner. In that case, you would cook it according to the recipe directions. A little longer if it is still frozen a bit in the center.

2. you can cook it at the same temperature and length that an equivalent store bought frozen meal would be. For example, if you made a frozen uncooked lasagna then you could cook it the same way as a frozen lasagna from Costco. Or a store bought frozen quiche, or casserole...etc.

3. most things will do okay cooked at 350 degrees for about 45 min. If you leave yourself enough time ahead you can always keep it warm till ready to serve which assures you plenty of time on the front end. For example, if I'm going to cook a frozen casserole for dinner that I want to serve at 5-5:30pm, I'll go ahead and stick it in the oven at 350 degrees at 4pm so that I assure myself enough cooking time. You can also test for done-ness in the center by using a thermometer to see if it's reached about 160 degrees in the center.

4. allow a little extra time(15-30 min.) for frozen meals that are in a deep freezer instead of your kitchen freezer.

You can click to the right to pull up my list of freezer meals that are on this site.

Guest Chef - Pollo Empanizado: (Breaded Chicken)

My sister, Katie, is going to be a guest chef today. =0) She lives in Mexico and sent us some of her recipes to try. She is learning how to cook there for her husband and herself. Here is a recipe she sent for breaded chicken. I'll let her tell you the rest.....

Sorry but I have no measurements for this one! I just make as much or as little of the breading as I have chicken. But you pretty much can’t go wrong here.

Thawed Chicken Breast
Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Poultry seasoning
Salt
Butter

You will need to first prepare your chicken breasts. Here it’s easy because I can buy them already pounded out for me but I have also done it myself and it’s not hard. Take your thawed breast and split/cut it open as many times as possible to make one big thin piece of chicken. The goal is to keep the breast in one piece so don’t cut all the way through. Leave one side attached. This is a little hard to explain but I’ve attached a picture of one so hopefully that helps. Once you have it cut put it between 2 pieces of plastic and pound it with a meat pounder or if you’re me then you have to use a hammer... Whatever works! You should end up with something like this:

Next, mix all ingredients (minus chicken) in a bowl. Don’t worry about too much poultry seasoning it isn’t a real strong blend. For 4 breasts you’ll want several good shakes of the Parmesan and a few pinches salt. Just enough bread crumbs to cover the chicken.
Pat dry the chicken if it is at all wet and place in the mixture. Sprinkle/rub mixture onto the chicken until totally covered. Repeat with all the chicken.

To cook: Melt a little butter in a skillet and cook the chicken uncovered on a low to medium heat. Chicken should be slightly browned on each side and no pink in the thickest part. I like to place them on a paper towel when done and pat off any remaining grease. The Parmesan cheese will also produce some oil so don’t go overboard on the butter or they will be really greasy.

I like to serve this with shredded lettuce and sliced tomato. I also cut a few pieces of a soft moist white Mexican cheese we have here called Panela. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese is close enough. I’ve also eaten it with a few slices of canned pineapple. Very yummy. The above guacamole is great with it also. Of course if you want to Americanize it just add some sour cream. A good side dish is Mexican rice. I also like it with some fresh steamed green beans.

Crock-pot Meatballs

This isn't something I would normally make but since I'm married to a meat-loving man, I make meatballs. And I keep looking for ways to make my cooking life even easier so yet again I find a way to make it in the crock-pot. And this TWO step process is just about as easy as it gets!

1. Put your frozen meatballs (homemade ahead of time or store bought) into the crock-pot.
2. Dump a jar of your favorite pasta sauce on top (or for those of you that have made your own, go ahead and dump a jar of your homemade and canned sauce).

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (optional)

This works well for a spaghetti dinner or for meatball subs. My husband REALLY likes the meatball subs with a slice of provolone cheese.

I even got away with serving these as an appetizer. I cut each meatball in half and served it with slices of bread on the side.